Alexandrea's Angel
by cuddlebeans
Summary: This is my first TWD fanfic. A moment I thought of based on Beth as a new mother. How did taking care of Judith effect her all that time now that she has a child of her own?


Beth balanced her son on her hip, struggling to find his pacifier in her bag. The baby fussed and kicked, wailing as she dug deeper into the bag.

"Shhhhhh," she cooed,"hold on, baby. It's somewhere in here. Just give Momma a minute to find it…"

Things hadn't been easy for her, being a young mother living in the zombie apocalypse. She was thankful to be in Alexandria, a safe haven for she and her family. It wasn't easy to adjust at first to living what felt like as close to normal as they ever could again. There was a school, a library, even a park. Sure, it was just a sandbox and one solum swing set but the children there were happy to have it.

She felt the rubber of the paci at her fingertips. _Finally._ Anything to get him to calm down for a little while. He had just cut a tooth and had been cranky for days. She wiped it off as best she could with a baby wipe, popping it into his sore, drooling mouth. He immediately quieted down, his lashes stained with tears.

"There you go," she said lovingly, smiling down at her bundle of joy. How anything could be so pure and perfect in this world, she didn't know.

"Beth! Can I hold him?! I promise I'll hold his neck better this time!" Judith Grimes asked excitedly, running up to the bench where Beth and her baby sat.

"Of course you can! Don't be hard on yourself, he's got a big, heavy head for a baby!" Beth smiled, adjusting her son as she steadied him into the little girl's arms.

"Was my head this heavy when I was a baby?" she asked, looking up at Beth.

"No, you were a little thing. You were a lot less fussy too!"

"Carl says my cheeks took over my whole face. Says he called me a squirrel," she narrowed her eyes, mentally throwing daggers at her big brother.

"Oh, pay him no mind! All babies have chubby cheeks! We'll see if he ever grows into his," Beth said gently touching the baby's cheek.

"Tell me more," Judy drawled,"about when I was a baby?"

"Hmmmm, let's see," she said biting her lip, thinking back to all the years she had known the little girl, "Well, you loved to be held, always. Any time I would get up to leave you for a second, you'd scream bloody murder if I left ya. I was glad when we got a carrier for you so I could actually have my hands free."

"I just wanted to be with ya!" she grinned, revealing her jack-o-lantern of a smile.

"Well, I didn't mind. You were the sweetest little baby. Everybody thought so," Beth reminisced, laughing to herself.

"Even though you have a new baby, can I still think of you as my momma?" Judy asked, her eyes darkening with the past she would never fully understand. Beth's heart retched, thinking such a sweet little girl would ever have to worry about anything like that. She started up again before Beth could answer her. "I know my Momma is an angel now up in heaven but you're the only one I can remember havin."

Beth took her son from Judith's arms, placing him in his stroller. She took her in her lap and began stroking her hair. "Sweetheart, no matter what happens you will _always_ be my first baby. If it weren't for you I wouldn't know how to be a momma now."

"You promise? I heard Carl talkin' once, said my momma would always be dead, no matter how much he or my Daddy wanted her to be there…"

She was so young. At seven years old, how could she hold such a burden on her fragile little shoulders? Beth slowly began braiding Judy's hair, pulling her brown curls away from her face.

"You know honey, the way I see it is, the person who brought you into this world will always be your true mother but the people who love you and keep your safe, that's your family. I'm your Momma, Carol is your Momma, Michonne too."

Judy was quiet, taking in Beth's words. Considering, listening. She really was like a little sponge. Soaking up all the hurt from the people around her, absorbing everything. Beth pulled the hair tie off her wrist, securing the long braid that cascaded down Judith's back.

"And you know what?" she said, lifting up Judy's little chin in her hands, " _You're_ my angel. You saved me. Showed me that everything in the world would be okay as long as I had you there with me. My light."

"I think she would be happy to know you're takin' care of me," she said quietly, hugging Beth tightly.

"I know she would. Your Momma loved you more than anything in this world and she did everything in her power to make sure you were safe and gonna survive," she whispered closely to the little girl's ear.

"And now that's your job, right?" Judy asked, pulling away from the tight embrace.

"It's all of our jobs, baby. We all got jobs to do and keeping you kids safe is our number one priority. It takes a village. Just like with Dillon here," she said, motioning to her son sleeping in front of them.

"Mine too?"

"Absolutely. When you were born, I became a Momma bear. And I'll do anything to keep my cubs safe. We're family, Judy. No matter what." She squeezed Judith's hand tightly, hoping to absorb some of the child's wisdom.

"Just promise me one thing,"

"What?"

"When he gets to be a few years older, you better help me keep him in line! If you ever hear him sassin' anybody, you whoop his bottom, you hear me?" Beth grinned, hugging Judy even tighter than before.

Everything that they had been through when Judith was first born seemed like an eternity ago. She was born into the worst of situations but had grown into the most beautiful, perceptive, intelligent little girl Beth had even known. Hell, she was probably the smartest little girl in the entire world at that point.

"Awe, mah girls are too sweet," Daryl teased them as he approached the bench behind them.

"Daryl!" Judith exclaimed, jumping up from the bench to her Uncle's arms.

"Oof, I'm gonna have to start callin' you ass kicker instead of little ass kicker, 'cause you ain't little no more," he teased her as he began to tickle her.

"Language!" she gasped between giggles, struggling to escape his grasp. He let her down, smiling with a knowing nod.

"I know, I know. I'm a bad influence on ya,"

Beth smiled at her husband lovingly. When she had first been separated with him in those woods so many years ago, she never would have envisioned their life together like this. Although he had always been wonderful with Judy, she'd never imagined the kind of father he could be to his own children. To Dillon.

"Nah, you're just lucky y'all had a son and not a daughter," she teased him, knowing it was true.

"Sure enough, he'll be full of piss n' vinegar, but that's just the way little boys are," Beth chimed in.

"Momma Beth, no cussin!" Judy said with her hands on her hips. She already had more sass in her little finger than most kids had in their entire body. Despite having never met her real mother, she was definitely Lori's daughter.

"I'm gonna hold that one to ya, girl," Daryl teased in a gruff voice, "get back to me on that when yer a teenager. Then we'll see if girls are easier to deal with."

Judy stuck her tongue out at Daryl botled off to the playground, her braid flying behind her. He settled down on the bench next to Beth, wrapping his arm around her.

"The way I see it, we can have only sons from here on out, at least Judy will have been good practice for future daughter in laws," he joked, looking down at Dillon.

"She's our baby, too. Even back then. In the prison," Beth said quietly, remembering how Daryl had such a natural touch with her. Always appearing to help out when she thought she had reached the end of her rope. Not just with the baby, but in everything.

"Mmmmhmmm, I reckon she knows that too,"

"She does. I tell her that we are all her family and that all the women in her life are her Momma." Daryl tightens his grip on her shoulder, running small circles along her skin.

"She's a good girl. She's gonna grow up strong and smart, knowin' she's all these people behind her,"

"I told her if it hadn't been for her, I-I wouldn't know how to be a mother to Dillon," Beth sputtered, feeling her eyes swell with heavy, salty tears.

"Shhhh," he said, pressing his lips to her head, "you know you got that natural maternal instinct anyway. Judy bein' born just prepared ya for it sooner."

Beth nodded, knowing that however it came to happen, Judy would always be her first baby. She was so thankful to have the family she did. Despite all the damage and chaos, she knew that these children would grow up to live and live. To survive.

"She helped me too," Daryl said, interrupting her thought, "I never knew if I was gonna have kids, look at me. I ain't cut out for it but lil ass kicker changed all that for me."

"Am I not doing enough for her? Now that Dillon is here? Am I not giving her enough attention? I feel like I'm losing her, Daryl."

"Hush, now. You do everything for her and she knows it. That little girl thinks you hung the moon and stars, Beth."

Dillon began to fuss, waking up from his slumber. Daryl retrieved him from the stroller before Beth could make a move. He cradled the baby in his arms, gently comforting him back into a lulled sleep.

"You're the best daddy and husband I could have ever hoped for," she grinned, wiping away the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"I had a lot of good practice. Watched a lot of good people who loved each other. And one of those people showed me that the world ain't so bad after all."

Beth smiled up at him, feeling the breeze cool her tear stained cheeks. She wasn't sad, she wasn't scared anymore. She was relieved. Everything they had been through was leading up to this very moment. These children were a reminder of all the good, all the light in the world that still existed. This was more than she could have ever hoped for. All the people they had lost, all the friends, their families, the survivors had worked to get them to this point. There was no doubt in her mind that her daddy would be proud of all they had done. When the sun was brightest, just between Spring and Summer, Beth swore she could feel her daddy shining down on her. Kissing her skin with his loving rays. This was all any of them ever needed.

Daryl took her hand, squeezing it gently before he intertwined their fingers together. He gave her a knowing smile, not needing to ask what was on her mind. He already knew.


End file.
